Abortion in Ireland is only legal if the pregnant woman’s life is at risk, including risk of suicide, but public opinion has long been evolving.

The fact that the government handed ownership of a new $330 million state hospital to a religious order has led to a national debate over the continued involvement of the Catholic Church in Ireland’s health care system.

A deeper dive on 'Amoris Laetitia' is planned for the World Meeting of Families, to be held in Dublin in August 2018.

Each forecasted outcome would have been mocked only a few years ago—yet today, neither is unthinkable.

McGuinness was an early activist in the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association. Later, joined the Irish Republican Army, which was leading an armed insurrection against British rule in Northern Ireland.

"Let us think about Patrick the 'unlearned refugee' (as he once described himself), the slave in exile, Patrick the undocumented migrant."